The Pirate's Heart
by ChloeBee AlexisPrime
Summary: Francis, heir to a large fortune, finds himself fascinated by the danger of life on sea compared to the boring life of a gentleman. When he witnesses the crew of a pirate ship attacking his home town he's kidnapped by the fierce Captain Kirkland and his odd first mate Williams. He quickly learns not everything is as it seems for there's a secret and soon the Navy is after them.
1. Kidnapped

**Written by: ChloeBee and AlexisPrime**

Francis would admit to anyone that asked that he felt his privileged life lacked true excitement. He was young and unmarried, and so there was some thrill in attending balls filled with ladies of all ages that he could coax away from the party. Or sitting around the card table with a glass of wine in one hand, a pouch of cash to bet with in the other. But even so, it wasn't quite the adventure he was looking for. Instead, he wished for something extraordinary to strike in his life to wash it clean of boring habits gentlemen had to partake in. Of course, when excitement found its place in his life, he would often wonder if it was truly what he wanted.

It came suddenly one night at one of the large balls he had been forced into attending as the heir to the Bonnefoy fortune just waiting for him. Women clung to him at the scent of said fortune, allowing him to at least pretend he was enjoying the crowds and company. The heat and stench of the room eventually forced him to slip away unnoticed by even Gilbert, one of his closest friends, and out into the starlit night.

The moon casted a soft white glow onto the water nearby, and he was mesmerized by the calm waves rolling into the shore. It was chilly that night but he hardly noticed his sapphire eyes locked on what he thought looked to be a ship heading towards the shore. He dismissed it as nothing more than an illusion created by his wandering mind.

But his first thoughts were right. It was indeed a ship heading for the shore; fifty cannons, triple-masted and triple-decked. A masterpiece to behold. But it was heading straight for the shore where Francis was stood and showed no signs of stopping.

It made his brow furrow in confusion as he stepped back, suddenly alarmed by the thick black flag fluttering in the weak wind. His heart jumped to his throat and he felt an intense desire to at least warn the other innocent people who were blissfully unaware, but his feet felt like lead and would not move.

There were lanterns lit along the top deck of the ship and from where he was stood Francis could see the thick blotted outlines of people scurrying back and forth across the deck. Orders were barked out across the ship by a single, foreign-sounding voice and the owner of said voice could not be seen against the inky-blackness of the night sky.

And still, Francis did not move, not even when the large ship came to a halt at the beach and anchors were tossed into the sea to keep it from returning to the waters.

A lone man jumped from the bow of the ship, landing neatly on the beach as he drew a cutlass. That alone was enough to set alarm bells ringing in Francis' mind but still he didn't move. Not even when the numerous amounts of what appeared to be pirates came running towards him, grinning maliciously as their captain had ordered them to kidnap the closest thing nearby and pillage the outside stalls.

A pirate roughly grasped his arm as others ran past him, charging into the town to do as they were ordered. Francis kept his eyes on the obvious captain of the boat with growing fear. Not a sound came from his mouth as a new voice rang out clearly from above.

"We must be quick, Captain. Or the townsfolk will be alerted to our presence, and you know as well as I that isn't acceptable."

The captain nodded to the lookout in the Crow's nest.

"Aye, Williams." he said, stalking closer to Francis, "A mightily good catch we've got ourselves lads..." he said, his tone sleek and British as bright blonde hair peeked out from under his hat and one of his bottle-green eyes was covered with an eye patch.

"We gonna bring 'm?" The pirate holding his arm asked the captain eagerly, an accent to his voice that Francis couldn't place. The Frenchman finally attempted to find his misplaced voice.

"_What are you doing?_" He questioned in French, fear and anger slipping into his voice. The captain laughed at the Frenchman, gripping Francis' chin and spoke softly yet harshly.

"Speak English, frog." he spat.

"_Parlez-vous Anglais?_" The previous voice called from over them, making Francis glance up into time with the pirate beside him. He watched a new man jump down from the deck. The captain glared.

"Williams. You know I bloody hate French-speakers. Speak **English** for crap's sake!" he snapped, glaring deeply at the Canadian lookout.

"_My name is Williams, this is Captain Arthur Kirkland. If you did speak English, we would greatly appreciate it_," the newcomer continued in French. He stooped into a bow, making Francis wonder how the man was able to move beneath the countless layers draped over an obviously thin frame. He could not see the man's face for it was coated in darkness thanks to a wide brimmed pirate hat. Captain Kirkland glared at both Williams and Francis, his hand resting on his cutlass handle.

"Tell him to move his arse onto my ship or so help me I'll have his guts for garters!"

The captain was surprised when Francis winced without having Williams translate a word of it. The Canadian revealed azure eyes for a moment to Arthur that twinkled in delight.

"Aye, Cap'in," he replied.

"Good. Now shift!" he snapped, dragging the Frenchman onto the ship by his hair. Francis finally began to protest for the first time, speaking broken English as a result of both burning panic and chilling fear as well as trying to avoid using French. Arthur turned around and slapped Francis hard across the cheek, snarling at him.

"You'd do well to remember that I AM A CAPTAIN! An' a feared one at that! I pillage the seven seas an' I drill fear into everyone's hearts! So you will listen to me!"

"Y-yes sir," Francis was able to reply weakly. He gingerly touched the angry skin that was already turning a bright red against his pale skin.

"Captain..." Williams spoke up softly, approaching the short pirate. Arthur looked up, anger in his eyes.

"What?"

Warning flashed across Williams'. He put his hand on Francis' arm. Arthur scowled, throwing Francis onto the deck and kicking him once in the crotch before going back into his cabin to wait for the other members of his crew to return with their hoards for the night.

"Kirkland, I will need to speak to you later," Williams called after him. He then turned his attention to the poor Frenchman who was fighting to regain his breath from the blow.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah whatever Williams..." Arthur called behind him, growling to himself. Williams turned his attention to the poor Frenchman they had abducted with a curious grin.

"Now, there are a couple of rules you need to learn, eh," he said slowly in careful English to make sure Francis could understand. He decided to be polite for once and offer the downed man a gloved hand. Francis looked up, taking the outstretched hand and hauling himself up. He nodded and gestured for the Canadian to continue.

"You're part of the crew now so long as you're onboard. You answer to Captain Kirkland or myself without protest. The rest of the crew knows to be... gentle with you, since this ain't exactly a place for gentlemen such as you. You'll sleep with the crew, eat with the crew, and act like the well behaved part of the crew. Act out of line... and Kirkland will be out for your blood."

Francis gave a slight nod, his eyes shining with fear. "O-Oui..." he mumbled. He stumbled forward some when Williams suddenly gave him a rough pat on the back.

"Now, I'd introduce ya to the crew, but since they're a little busy, I'll show you to where you'll be staying," he said, his tone surprisingly gentle despite the obvious grin in his voice. There was something strange about his voice, but Francis had no time to dwell on it for his tour guide began to walk.

Francis went with Williams swiftly, wondering silently and absently what it was about his voice that made it so... odd. But he couldn't put a finger on it and was forced to push those thoughts down when they arrived in the crew's cabins. Once more, Williams turned his attention to the Frenchman.

"When the others get back they'll show you exactly where you'll sleep, since I don't know what's open down here. I'm usually not down here. Oh, and a warning. Stay outta Captain Kirkland's way. He doesn't exactly like the French, as you've probably noticed. You seem smart enough."

"Oui..." Francis said meekly, taking the last comment as a compliment since he wasn't fond of insults. Williams tipped his hat back some so Francis could see his pale face and the gentler smile currently present.

"Now, Mr Bonnefoy, no need to be so scared. We're sparing you."

"Oui..." he repeated again, standing a little straighter at the comment. Williams chuckled then, a sound that was soothing but at the time enough to make a chill run down Francis' spine.

"You'll earn your place and work for your food, but we could be simply robbing you of your gold and life. It'll get to the point you're beggin' to see the land. Where you're just desperate for the finer things of a life on land, but trust me. You'll never escape this. You'll learn to love it."

Francis nodded, silent. His mind was whirring rapidly as Williams was essentially offering, no, TELLING him to become a pirate. He was given time to think as William watched him, piercing blue eyes studying him as if he were trying to learn his thoughts.

"Fine..." he said in English, his accent a strong French one. He was rewarded with a genuine smile.

"What a good lad," he laughed, realizing after he'd said it that he had been spending way too much time with Arthur. "You won't regret it."

"I hope not..." Francis said quietly, keeping his speaking to minimum in the hopes not to get into trouble.

All Williams did, much to his relief, was look him over, tip his hat back into its previous position and ask, "How good are you in a kitchen? We don't always have a lot to work with, and we have a lot of people."

"I'm very good... I regularly cook good meals for people where I work..." he said slowly, making sure his English was correct since he had barely used his second language much after learning it.

"Good. That's where you'll work then. Our last cook is no longer around," Williams said as he began to the kitchen. Francis felt himself pale as he followed, his over-active imagination thinking up all sorts of horrific scenarios where the previous cook had suffered a gruesome death.

"It's really too bad," Williams continued, "Good help that Arthur will accept an' trust is hard to find. Did you ever think of becoming a pirate before this, Bonnefoy?"

"Non..." he said shakily, "N-Never..."

"You alright? You're looking a bit ill."

"F-Fine..."

"You're not going to die," Williams said gently, putting a hand on Francis' shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"O-Ok..." Francis said, managing a slight smile.

"The only things you'll have to worry about are Arthur, the Navy, storms, doin' your job, and my temper," Williams said. He gave Francis' shoulder one last pat before his hand fell. "The crew shouldn't bother you, and if they do they'll be answering to me and Kirkland."

Francis nodded again. "Understood…"

He was led to the kitchen to be shown his station, Williams finally falling silent. Francis looked around the sorry state for a kitchen and sighed, it looked like his work was cut out for him.

"Not to your standard?" Williams asked in amusement.

"Not really... But I've worked with worse before..." Francis said, taking a look around. Williams chuckled.

"We could probably do some work on it, but for now you'll have to deal with it. I'll talk to Kirkland about it."

"I see..." was all Francis said before going and inspecting the kitchen closely, a grimace on his face. He was able to ignore William's gaze as he focused on the task at hand. It wasn't long before he was able to entirely tune the other man out. Williams, taking that as his cue to leave Francis to work, went to seek out Arthur.


	2. Secret

Francis was left alone for the rest of the evening. He noticed through the grimy windows of the under-used kitchen that the pirates were returning. The deck was filled quickly with noisy men who were hollering and laughing as they celebrated their raid of the French town. Francis stayed tucked away in the kitchen until he felt the ship begin to move as they set sail again. The wind filled the sails of the triple-masted ship and he could feel the tug of the whole thing as it left the small French town behind.

His eyes stayed on the windows until the town was only a bright light in the distance before trudging up onto the deck. He was a pirate now, for there was no going back. He had no way to return to his home, and at least he could be comforted by the fact he was being given a chance at a life filled with adventure.

Arthur stalked out onto the deck, watching as the moon rose high in the sky.

"Alright ya scurvy lot, haul yer arses down into yer quarters now!" he barked suddenly, watching as everyone scurried off down below deck. Francis lingered where he was, unsure of exactly what he was supposed to do. He was terribly confused by the rush of things that had been thrown at him over the course of a few short hours. Arthur stalked over to him, a cold expression on his face.

"You, Frog, I trust you know where yer sleepin'?" he said. Francis stiffened.

"No..." he answered a moment later. Arthur growled slightly.

"Great... Well haul yerself off to the toile' an' then I want ya down below decks. I'll show ya where yer sleepin'!" he snapped before stalking off to make sure the rest of the crew were sleeping.

The Frenchman sighed shakily before starting to walk, his eyes on the ground as his hands clenched into fists at his sides. What was he thinking when he decided that staying on the pirate ship would be a good idea? Arthur Kirkland was likely going to be the one that ran him through with a blade. He trudged across the deck, growling and muttering to himself.

Francis sighed as he came back from the sorry excuse for a toilet, shivering as it was cold and dead midnight. He sighed again and watched the stars glitter and twinkle above him in the inky-black midnight sky. The Frenchman became lost in his thoughts about the captain and that mysterious Williams bloke. Something was off about him and he intended to find out what.

Francis looked up at the stars again and sighed, not watching where he was going. Suddenly his feet became entangled in some rope carelessly discarded by a member of the crew and he tripped, stumbling and falling backwards. His arms wind milled outwards to grab onto something to stop him from falling, only succeeding in grabbing onto the First Mate's cabin door. He yelled in fright as he crashed through the door, startling Williams.

Suddenly Francis was staring at the tip of a cutlass that had been drawn in the other's surprise. He exclaimed in French as his eyes slid from the bright metal in his face to Williams. He blinked before scrambling to his feet, shaking in fear.

"I-I'm s-so sorry!" he barely managed as his mind was going faster than his mouth, screwing his words up. Williams, or rather, the figure he **thought** was Williams growled lowly.

"What. Are you doing. In **my**. **Cabin**!?" Williams shouted, his voice taking on a slightly higher pitch. Francis winced, stepping back in panic.

"I w-was j-just coming b-back from the t-toilets! I w-was tripped by s-some rope!" he yelped in fear, his eyes going wide at seeing the cutlass in more light.

"Get yer arse out now or I'll have yer guts fer garters and you strung up in the riggin'!" Williams snapped, his eyes glaring as he stalked back over to the desk where multiple layers of clothing lay. Francis couldn't help but note that there was a definitive way of walking William had - his hips swaying slightly and his posture straight, much unlike the other pirates on the ship. Francis began to move towards the door again, but his eyes stayed locked on Williams out of both fear and curiosity.

"What are you starin' at?!" Williams snapped, glaring as he, very reluctantly, took off his bandanna. Francis watched as long brown-blonde hair cascaded down Williams' back, making his eyes triple in size.

"It's too bloody hot..." Williams muttered. All words fled, leaving him attempting to avoid gaping like a fish out of water. His movements slowed to nothing. Williams sighed, sitting on the bed.

"Alright..." 'he' said, the accent switching to Canadian and a female's tone, "Now you know..."

"A girl..." Francis whispered. His voice was tainted by confusion and surprise.

"Yeah... But don't you dare tell the rest of the crew..." she said, her tone taking on a menacing air to it before she sighed, "My real name's Maddie Williams..."

"Maddie..." he echoed. His expression finally began to soften away from shock. "Short for...?"

"Madeline..."

Francis nodded slowly, his gaze gentle as he watched her.

"Madeline. Such a beautiful name for a beautiful girl," he said. "The rest of the crew doesn't know?"

Maddie shook her head.

"Only Arthur... I'm the real captain of this ship... He's the first mate, not me..."

"It's bad luck for a female to be aboard a ship, much less the captain," he stated before he realized what he was saying. Maddie shot him a dirty look before standing, bearing her cutlass.

"And it's bad luck to have a dirty old Frenchman on board no matter whether he cooks decently or not!" she retorted bitterly, "Bad luck because every time there's been a bloody Frenchman on board there's always been a massive mishap!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Francis yelped, backing away with terror written across his face. He raised his hands in surrender, once more fearing for his life. Maddie growled once before slipping her cutlass back in her belt and sighing, drawing her hair up into a ponytail that draped across one of her shoulders.

"Oh do stop being such a wimp. It's not like I'm going to gut you for making a mistake!"

"Then stop shoving a sword in my face, s'il vous plaît! Both you and Mr Kirkland have threatened to!" Francis cried out, forcing himself to calm down.

"That's because neither of us can risk me being found out!" she said shrilly, glaring and sitting on her bed. Francis winced, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm not going to tell anyone," he managed to say gently. Maddie looked up, hope in her purple-tinted eyes.

"You won't?"

"Of course not... Who would I tell, anyways?"

"The rest of the crew, perhaps? That'd cause a mutiny and uproar as well as a way to get you off this ship..."

"And get both you and Mr Kirkland turned against? Non, it's not my way."

Maddie gave a sigh of relief.

"Thank you... At least there's one person on this tub I can trust with my secret..." she said, standing and stretching. A faint smile made his lip twitch upwards. He chuckled.

"And you cannot trust Mr Kirkland?"

"I can, but he's a sly demon if ever I've seen one..." Maddie said, smiling ever so slightly, "Thing is, I'm only here because my brother's in the Navy and he trusts Arthur here to look after me."

"Pirates are meant to be sly..."

"Yeah well..."

"How did you end up a pirate yourself, if your brother is in the Navy? Why would he trust Mr Kirkland?"

"Because they knew each other from school days... Alfred didn't want me in the Navy... Said it wasn't a good place for me to be, not really anyway..."

"As if this ship's any better," Francis snorted. He glanced out the window at the lazy waves of the sea, finding himself wishing he hadn't gotten dragged into this at all. With the crazy Arthur Kirkland and the captain Maddie Williams, he couldn't help but wonder if he would even survive a week. He moved to the door and glanced at her once more. "You don't seem like a pirate yourself."

"Perhaps... But then again, neither do you," she said, "Goodnight, Mr Bonnefoy."

Francis chuckled softly, "But I'm not. _Bonne nuit_, Captain Williams." He left to find where Arthur had gone without another word. Maddie let a soft laugh leave her red lips before she settled into her bed, looking out the small round window at the stars and sighed.

"Yo, ho, ho..." she said softly and almost bitterly, "A pirate's life for me..."

A few minutes later saw Arthur entering her room, a sigh leaving his throat as he cast aside the weariness from the day. Raids always wore on him, for he had to be especially careful then.

Maddie was already fast asleep, curled up and crashed out on her makeshift bed as Arthur approached. The man chuckled, a gentle smile finding its place on his face. He sat on the end of her bed. He brushed a strand of her wavy hair out of her face.

"Already out..." he whispered to himself. Another quiet chuckle rolled through the silence. Maddie stirred slightly, the Canadian captain rolling onto her side to face Arthur as she made a soft noise in her sleep. Choosing to avoid waking her, Arthur allowed the silence to settle once more as he watched her.

Maddie had an expression of peace gracing her features as she slept, her hand resting beneath her head on the cool pillow. Arthur finally stood, taking the time to put out the lanterns in the room before leaving to get some sleep himself.


	3. Attack

Francis sighed as he was bellowed at again, the captain screaming at him to get up into the Crow's Nest with Williams to keep an eye out for pirates. They had moved further out to sea during the night and they were in mightily treacherous waters now.

He could feel Williams watching him, for once lacking her normal pirate hat to avoid it getting lost in the wind. Below him he could see the rest of the crew sprinting about wildly, preparing the cannons in the event of an attack.

"Are ya coming?" Williams called in great amusement. Francis looked up, nodding as he scrambled up the rigging. He heard the woman laugh from the Crow's Nest and for a moment he couldn't help but wonder why she found him so very entertaining. "Come on then!" Williams shouted, taking her looking glass and watching from high above way out to sea.

"Why did Mr. Kirkland send me up here?" Francis asked her once he was safely in the Crow's Nest beside Williams.

"Cuz he reckons there are pirates nearby..."

"What? Why?" Francis questioned in alarm.

"We're in dangerous waters, Francis." Williams said shortly before handing him a looking glass. The Frenchman reluctantly took the item from the woman and raised it to his eye, looking out over the water. Williams grinned as she did the same in the opposite direction.

"You're in a good mood for there potentially being pirates," Francis stated, curiosity in his tone. He wasn't used to the odd behaviours of the crew yet.

"I yearn for battle, Bonnefoy. There hasn't been one in years!"

"Why would you **want** to fight?" Francis asked, turning slightly to look at the young female pirate in confusion.

"Because I've never had much action in my life despite being a pirate!"

"And so you wish to endanger your crew?"

She shrugged. "They want a fight too."

"_You pirates are insane_," Francis mumbled to himself in French as he went back to searching the waters for other ships. His eyes widened behind the looking glass. A ship was approaching. Williams saw it through her own glass and raised the alarm, shouting down to the captain.

"CAPTAIN! PIRATES INBOUND!"

Arthur nodded, grinning as he drew is own looking glass and focuses in on the inbound ship. A curse passed his lips as he saw the captain.

"Antonio Carrierdo..." he growled. The Spanish pirate was always getting up his backside, driving him into the ground.

"Orright lads!" Arthur roared, "LIGHT 'EM UP!"

There was a roar of bloodthirst from the crew as the ran about the decks, half going below and half drawing their cutlasses ready for the fight. Above them Williams and Francis looked on, watching with fear, adrenalin and excitement coursing through them.

Francis glanced towards Williams, unsure of his role and what was expected. Unlike the pirates, he had never even held a gun at a person and pulled the trigger, nor had he used a sword to injure anyone. Williams handed a sword and gun to Francis, grinning.

"If any pirate comes up here shoot 'em down!" she instructed before climbing down.

"_O-oui_, Captain..." Francis mumbled as he took the items.

"Good lad!" Williams laughed as she joined the other pirates on the deck.

Francis merely mumbled French phrases to himself as he recalled the information on how to work the gun he had been handed and told to use. He doubted he could use it on someone, but he would have to try. He was a pirate now, not a helpless rich boy.

Soon enough there were multiple cannon blasts from both ships, signalling to the Frenchman that the battle had begun. Every blast made his heart hammer in his chest, and his grip tighten on the handle of the gun. He could see Arthur moving among his fellow pirates, obviously intending to see the other captain. He searched for a glimpse of Williams without truly realizing that he was.

Arthur laughed as he faced off Antonio on the top deck by the wheel of the ship, grinning. From where he was stood, he could see that his crew were winning against the Spaniards.

"Looks to me like I win again, Antonio!" he laughed as he swung his cutlass. The Spanish captain swore as he brought his blade to grind against the Brit's.

"Don't ya mean your first mate's crew? Seems like he's in charge a you!" Antonio taunted back. He had known Arthur long enough, even before the British pirate had changed to be the captain of this ship, and was aware of changes in the other man's behaviour. Arthur growled with anger as he kicked Antonio in the shins before swinging his cutlass straight for Antonio's chest.

"This is MY crew! Don't ya dare tell me otherwise else you'll be joinin' the Sirens!" he shouted in anger, glaring as there was the same clash of their blades meeting.

"You're bein' rather defensive. Is somethin' wrong, Arthur?" Antonio snarled as he rose to his feet again. Arthur hissed angrily, kicking the Spaniard hard in the face and sent him down to the deck again. Swiftly he pressed his boot into the back of Antonio's head, growling as he pushed it further into the floor.

"Don't. You. Ever. Doubt. Me."

"Cap'in Kirkland!" a new voice broken in as Antonio cried out. Arthur looked up quickly, his eyes narrowed into a glare. How dare someone interrupt his victory! A younger pirate ran up, a boy with an appearance strikingly similar to the captain's own despite his blue eyes where Arthur's were green. Arthur snarled and kicked Antonio's head into the deck, standing but keeping his guard up.

"What lad?"

"It's Williams!" the boy stated.

"What?!"

The boy went to reply but was cut off when a pirate from Antonio's ship grabbed his collar and lifted him off the ground. He failed helplessly and swore.

"Arthur!" he finally wailed. Arthur snarled again, shooting the pirate in the stomach and caught the boy as he fell to the deck.

"What about Williams?!"

"He's corned," the boy said, clinging to the captain. Arthur felt his blood boil as he set the boy down, storming over and fighting his way to Williams, slicing the crews apart.

The true captain was lacking her weapons, for she had given them to Francis, and was being backed towards the plank between the ships by several of Antonio's crew that had been given orders to dispose of her. The sword in her hand, a short one compared to her usual cutlass, was knocked away by one of the men. Her eyes widened and she glanced around for a means of escape.

Arthur growled, taking his guns that were stowed in his belt and began shooting the crew members down, slicing their heads off as he went. Anger and murder was in his eyes as he powered ahead to get to Williams.

"Arthur!" the boy's voice shouted again, desperate to get the captain's attention.

Williams glanced towards Arthur then the boy, then up at the Crow's Nest as she was forced onto the plank the other pirates were using to board their ship. Arthur snarled, looking up at hearing an unplanned gunshot coming from Francis' gun. Everyone looked up, astonished to see one of the Spanish crew taken down by the new Frenchman on board the ship.

"Ah ha! That's it!" Williams cried with a grin. She yelped though when an arm was wrapped around her torso suddenly, pulling her onto the plank. It was what the boy was trying to warn them of. Antonio had gotten up. And now the Spaniard had Williams in a less than safe position. Arthur and Francis both shared a growl, the Briton stepping aside as the Frenchman jumped down from the rigging he was stood in.

"Let go of me!" Williams shouted. She thrashed in Antonio's grip as the Spanish pirate slowly backed towards his ship. His gun was trained on Williams' chest having given up his sword.

"Antonio you arse!" Arthur screamed, growling and glaring at the pirate.

"I told ya. He's important to ya, isn't he?" Antonio shoved the gun harder into his captive's chest but it didn't stop her from trying to get away.

"You sicken me." Arthur spat venomously. Suddenly time seemed to slow down as Francis had disappeared a couple of seconds before, climbing back up into the rigging and swinging down towards Antonio on a line of rope. He shot the other pirate captain once in the shoulder before kicking him off the plank, grabbing Williams with the other arm and swinging back up onto the decks.

Antonio cried out and flailed, managing to grab onto the plank and others from his crew fled back to their ship, taking him with them. Williams however simply clung to Francis and laughed at seeing Antonio put into place. Francis spared a laugh for the Spaniard as he set Williams to her feet on the deck.

"Are you alright?" Williams asked Francis, looking over the Frenchman. His shirt was bloodied, though he hadn't been part of the battle. It took her a moment to realize it was her blood, and not his. A frown tugged at her lips. Francis nodded slightly, his hand pressed to Williams' shoulder where one of the numerous pirates had caught her. She shrugged off his hand as Arthur and the young pirate from earlier approached, allowing a grin to grace her expression.

Francis hung back, his heart continuing to pound in his chest at what he'd just done.

"What's the damage?" Williams asked Arthur, her eyes sliding to the boy by his side.

"Two injured, one dead and three unconscious. Other than that, not bad." he replied swiftly, his eyes glinting.

"And yourself?"

"Minor injuries but my clothes are sliced to buggery!" Arthur said haughtily, not happy in the slightest.

"We'll have to do another raid soon then," she stated. She smiled at the boy. "Are you taking care of your brother, Peter?"

Peter grinned as Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Yeah Williams sir!" he chirped, going off to help the other crew members with their injuries. Williams laughed and winked at Arthur.

"Precious boy," she stated, if only to get a response from the other pirate. Arthur growled, his hackles raising at being teased. "To think. You were once as cute and innocent as he is now."

"Oi!"

"And you chose to grow into this."

"Apparently."

"At least you've chosen to still have a heart under that pirate exterior," Williams said, gently poking Arthur in the chest, "I owe you quite a bit."

Arthur's cheeks reddened as his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Maybe ya do, maybe ya don't..."

Williams laughed. "You're not the only one I owe. In fact... I'm in debt with how much I owe you, and now our Frenchman. But thank you, Arthur. I don't know what I would have done without you."

Arthur smiled and nodded slightly.

"Get changed and your wounds tended to, we need to run a raid," Williams ordered with a smile. She turned on her heel and approached Francis. Arthur nodded, stalking off to get himself tended to. "And you, Bonnefoy. Thank you."

Francis looked up.

"Oh... Um... Welcome..."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Williams asked, a hand going to the gash in her arm. She looked away from him, choosing the safer route of looking out at the retreating pirate ship rather than up at the man before her. Francis nodded, amazed at not having so much as a scratch on him. "Good. I... would hate to see anything happen to our new cook so soon."

Francis gave a slight smile, nodding again.

"Are you good at tending to wounds?" she asked suddenly.

He nodded slightly. "_Oui..._"

"Come with me," she turned and headed towards her quarters, putting pressure on her wound despite the pain it caused to stop the bleeding. Francis followed, worried and wary about her wounds. He followed her into her quarters, not surprised when she shut her door after he was inside.

"I hope you don't mind if I strip my shirt so you can tend to the wounds..." she said once the door clicked shut. Francis nodded.

"It's fine, _mon ami._"

Williams' mouth twitched into a slight smile as she peeled off her jacket first, pain flickering in her eyes. She walked over to her desk and set the layers she took off down on the desk. The last shirt she had on, a white one, was soaked in red. Francis could feel his stomach churn at seeing that, his face whitening at his eyes filing with fear.

"Worried, eh?" Williams asked in amusement at seeing his expression.

"Just a bit..." he managed.

"It's not... as bad as it looks," she stated as she slowly began to take the shirt off to reveal the wounds littering her torso.

"Yeah... For sure..."

"I need your help..." she whispered, her eyes on the floor. She set aside the bloody shirt before slowly raising her gaze to meet his. Francis nodded. Williams dug into a box she had safely tucked in the chest at the end of her bed that was bolted to the floor, pulling out a roll of bandages and offering it to him. Her smile was gone, replaced by an almost shy, hesitant look. Francis nodded again, taking the bandages and gently bandaged her up.


End file.
